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<h1 id="title">FFII Newsletter number 1, 9 May 2006</h1>
<div dir="ltr" id="content" lang="en"><span class="anchor" id="top"></span>
<span class="anchor" id="line-1"></span><p class="line867"><div class="table-of-contents"><p class="table-of-contents-heading">Contents<ol><li>
<a href="#Editorial">Editorial</a></li><li>
<a href="#Commission_consultation_on_EU_patent">Commission consultation on EU patent</a></li><li>
<a href="#FFII.27s_action_toward_Commission_consultation_on_EU_patent">FFII's action toward Commission consultation on EU patent</a></li><li>
<a href="#European_Patent_Litigation_Agreement">European Patent Litigation Agreement</a></li><li>
<a href="#IPRED_2">IPRED 2</a></li><li>
<a href="#Calendar">Calendar</a></li><li>
<a href="#Contact">Contact</a></li><li>
<a href="#Donations">Donations</a></li></ol></div> <span class="anchor" id="line-2"></span><span class="anchor" id="line-3"></span><p class="line867">
<h1 id="Editorial">Editorial</h1>
<span class="anchor" id="line-4"></span><span class="anchor" id="line-5"></span><p class="line874">Hi, and welcome to our newsletter ! We will be sending you news on <span class="anchor" id="line-6"></span>software patents once a month to tell you what is happening, what we are <span class="anchor" id="line-7"></span>doing, and how you can participate in the battle for an open and fair <span class="anchor" id="line-8"></span>information world. <span class="anchor" id="line-9"></span><span class="anchor" id="line-10"></span><p class="line874">We are open to questions and suggestions, and we will work with you to <span class="anchor" id="line-11"></span>make this newsletter as useful as we can. If you want to contribute to <span class="anchor" id="line-12"></span>FFII monthly newsletter about software patents, please do not hesitate <span class="anchor" id="line-13"></span>to contact us on <a class="mailto" href="mailto:brussels@ffii.org">brussels@ffii.org</a>. <span class="anchor" id="line-14"></span><span class="anchor" id="line-15"></span><p class="line874">-- The FFII Team <span class="anchor" id="line-16"></span><span class="anchor" id="line-17"></span><p class="line867">
<h1 id="Commission_consultation_on_EU_patent">Commission consultation on EU patent</h1>
<span class="anchor" id="line-18"></span><span class="anchor" id="line-19"></span><p class="line874">In January 2006, the European Commission started "on the future of the <span class="anchor" id="line-20"></span>Community Patent in Europe” on the pretext of promoting of developping <span class="anchor" id="line-21"></span>software free market and protecting innovation. In reality, the aim is <span class="anchor" id="line-22"></span>to legalize software patents by transfering EU and member state <span class="anchor" id="line-23"></span>legislative and judicial power to the European Patent Office. Patent <span class="anchor" id="line-24"></span>system does not guarantee continued innovation. A software patent system <span class="anchor" id="line-25"></span>in Europe could only be counterproductive and disastrous for economic <span class="anchor" id="line-26"></span>development. <span class="anchor" id="line-27"></span><span class="anchor" id="line-28"></span><p class="line874">For more details, see FFII position paper on <span class="anchor" id="line-29"></span><a class="http" href="http://consultation.ffii.org/Downloads?action=AttachFile&amp;do=get&amp;target=wgepl0601-11a.pdf">http://consultation.ffii.org/Downloads?action=AttachFile&amp;do=get&amp;target=wgepl0601-11a.pdf</a> <span class="anchor" id="line-30"></span><span class="anchor" id="line-31"></span><p class="line867">
<h1 id="FFII.27s_action_toward_Commission_consultation_on_EU_patent">FFII's action toward Commission consultation on EU patent</h1>
<span class="anchor" id="line-32"></span><span class="anchor" id="line-33"></span><p class="line874">FFII first questioned the validity of the procedure, based on the <span class="anchor" id="line-34"></span>serious lack of accessibility, which means that a majority of EU <span class="anchor" id="line-35"></span>businesses are completely excluded from answering. That’s why FFII <span class="anchor" id="line-36"></span>recommended participation to those businesses that are able to do so, <span class="anchor" id="line-37"></span>for “Open democracy” means more transparency and effective hearings of <span class="anchor" id="line-38"></span>all stakeholders… Following a formal complaint by FFII to the EU <span class="anchor" id="line-39"></span>Commission's President Barroso, and meetings between FFII and the <span class="anchor" id="line-40"></span>Commission, the Commission agreed to extend its deadline from 31 March <span class="anchor" id="line-41"></span>2006 to 12 April 2006. FFII submitted its answer to the consultation <span class="anchor" id="line-42"></span>organized by the European Commission last Wednesday 12th of April. <span class="anchor" id="line-43"></span><span class="anchor" id="line-44"></span><p class="line867">
<h1 id="European_Patent_Litigation_Agreement">European Patent Litigation Agreement</h1>
<span class="anchor" id="line-45"></span><span class="anchor" id="line-46"></span><p class="line874">EPLA (European Patent Litigation Agreement) is a proposed patent law <span class="anchor" id="line-47"></span>agreement aimed at creating an optional protocol to the European Patent <span class="anchor" id="line-48"></span>Convention (EPC), which would commit its signatory states to an <span class="anchor" id="line-49"></span>integrated judicial system. The main driving force behind the EPLA is <span class="anchor" id="line-50"></span>legalising software patents and business method patents via case law, <span class="anchor" id="line-51"></span>under the assumption that the European Patent Convention still forbids <span class="anchor" id="line-52"></span>those with the European Patent Office nevertheless granting them since <span class="anchor" id="line-53"></span>the mid 1980s. The proposed "European Patent Judiciary" would lack <span class="anchor" id="line-54"></span>independent judges and sufficient democratic control. <span class="anchor" id="line-55"></span><span class="anchor" id="line-56"></span><p class="line862">For more information, see <a class="http" href="http://wiki.ffii.org/EplaEn">http://wiki.ffii.org/EplaEn</a> <span class="anchor" id="line-57"></span><span class="anchor" id="line-58"></span><p class="line867">
<h1 id="IPRED_2">IPRED 2</h1>
<span class="anchor" id="line-59"></span><span class="anchor" id="line-60"></span><p class="line874">April 27th, 2006. In a statement the EU Commission announced it has <span class="anchor" id="line-61"></span>adopted a proposal for a directive to combat intellectual property <span class="anchor" id="line-62"></span>offences.The directive would be “[…] applied to all types of intellectual <span class="anchor" id="line-63"></span>property right infringements. […]The minimum sentence is a term of four years’ <span class="anchor" id="line-64"></span>imprisonment where the infringement is committed under the aegis of a <span class="anchor" id="line-65"></span>criminal organisation or carries a serious risk to the health and safety <span class="anchor" id="line-66"></span>of individuals. The amount of the fine will have to be at least EUR 100 <span class="anchor" id="line-67"></span>000 or EUR 300 000 where there is a link with a criminal organisation or <span class="anchor" id="line-68"></span>any risk to health and safety. Member States may impose heavier penalties <span class="anchor" id="line-69"></span>or fines. ” The basic problem is that IPRED 2 assimiles commercial violations of <span class="anchor" id="line-70"></span>"intellectual proprety rights" as a criminal offense. In order to fight against <span class="anchor" id="line-71"></span>general piracy, this new proposal of directive would penalized much more <span class="anchor" id="line-72"></span>campanies than pirates. Like Jonas Maebe, FFII board member, said: "It seems <span class="anchor" id="line-73"></span>they want to replace the Lisbon goals with an Alcatraz program." <span class="anchor" id="line-74"></span><span class="anchor" id="line-75"></span><p class="line862">For more information on IPRED 2, see <a class="http" href="http://wiki.ffii.org/IpredEp051122En">http://wiki.ffii.org/IpredEp051122En</a> <span class="anchor" id="line-76"></span><span class="anchor" id="line-77"></span><p class="line867">
<h1 id="Calendar">Calendar</h1>
<span class="anchor" id="line-78"></span><span class="anchor" id="line-79"></span><ul><li><p class="line862">Brussels, 3-4 May : European Inventor of the Year conference and gala. FFII was there and made several interviews. See the press release, <a class="http" href="http://wiki.ffii.org/Perkins030506En">http://wiki.ffii.org/Perkins030506En</a> <span class="anchor" id="line-80"></span></li><li>Prague, 22-24 May : PATLIB conference tailored to the specific needs and demands of the staff of National Patent Offices and their Patent Information Centres.  <span class="anchor" id="line-81"></span></li><li>Warsaw, 2-4 June: FFII board conference and meeting. Meet the people who make your life hell with untold emails about inane subjects, and tell them what you really think! <span class="anchor" id="line-82"></span></li><li>Brussels, 12 June: EU Commission hearings on the future of patent policy in Europe. The FFII will be there. <span class="anchor" id="line-83"></span><span class="anchor" id="line-84"></span></li></ul><p class="line862">Full calendar on <a class="http" href="http://www.ffii.org/Calendar">http://www.ffii.org/Calendar</a> <span class="anchor" id="line-85"></span><span class="anchor" id="line-86"></span><p class="line867">
<h1 id="Contact">Contact</h1>
<span class="anchor" id="line-87"></span><span class="anchor" id="line-88"></span><p class="line862">Benjamin Henrion<br>
 <span class="anchor" id="line-89"></span>FFII Brussels<br>
 <span class="anchor" id="line-90"></span>+32-2-414 84 03 (fixed)<br>
 <span class="anchor" id="line-91"></span>+32-484-56 61 09 (mobile)<br>
 <span class="anchor" id="line-92"></span><a class="mailto" href="mailto:bhenrion@ffii.org">bhenrion@ffii.org</a><br>
 <span class="anchor" id="line-93"></span>(French/English)<br>
 <span class="anchor" id="line-94"></span><span class="anchor" id="line-95"></span><p class="line867">
<h1 id="Donations">Donations</h1>
<span class="anchor" id="line-96"></span><span class="anchor" id="line-97"></span><p class="line862">If you want to support FFII activities, please consider to donate: <a class="http" href="http://www.ffii.org/Donations">http://www.ffii.org/Donations</a> <span class="anchor" id="line-98"></span><span class="anchor" id="bottom"></span></div><p id="pageinfo" class="info" lang="en" dir="ltr">Newsletter/FFII Newsletter number 1, 9 May 2006  (last edited 2009-08-15 23:47:17 by <span title="??? @ localhost[127.0.0.1]">localhost</span>)</p>

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